Day 17: Tuesday, April 26, 2011

32 miles to Damascus, VA

Today was the best ride of the trip to date and to think we would have missed it if it had rained.  When Bob picked us up in Sugar Grove last night, we traveled the same road as the bicycle trail.  The road was very steep and very narrow.  Needless to say, I wasn’t thrilled about riding on it and certainly didn’t want to tackle it in the rain.  We waited in the morning to see how the weather would be and it turned sunny and a bit breezy.  Vincent convinced me it was ok to go.  We had to climb a lot, but were well rewarded with 2 different stretches of at least 3-mile downhill sections.  We passed thousands of wild rhododendrons, some at least 20 feet tall.  The drive will be spectacular in a month or so when they are in bloom.  The area we bicycled through reminded me a bit of Yellowstone with a sparkling stream and trout fisherman everywhere.

While our ride was spectacular, Bob’s day was the worst he has had to date.  Again the GPS sent him up a gravel mountain road, this time for 5 miles.  In addition, the brake system wasn’t adjusted properly and he was fishtailing significantly.  He did manage to get into the camp, but he surely doesn’t want to repeat the experience.  We are going to revisit all the sites we have picked to date and make sure the roads leading to the camp are well paved and well-marked.  Given that we are going to be in the mountains until we get into Kansas, there will be some challenges ahead.  He says he can drive the mountain roads, but they can’t be gravel.

One of the many creek waterfalls along the road in Mt. Rogers National Recreational Area

Day 16: Monday, April 25, 2011

44 miles to Sugar Grove, VA

Today was “back to nature” day.  We saw a brand new foal as it tried to get to its feet for the first time.  The mare was just standing there while the farmer was helping the little one get up.  We also saw dozens of newborn calves at several different farms.  No wonder the song says “get along little doggies” because they look just like little dogs.  We came around a corner and 3 of them were in the front yard of an abandoned house. When they saw us they took off looking for their mamas.  While not back to nature exactly, we did eat a “world famous” hot dog in Wytheville, VA.  We were looking for coffee for Vincent and the woman we asked directed us to Skeeters.  We didn’t end up getting coffee, and while I don’t eat hot dogs much, this one was pretty darn good. We got the works, including chili, coleslaw and onions for only $1.95.

We have been cycling very close to the Appalachian Trail and have seen several hikers coming down off the mountain for supplies.  We met a man today who has previously hiked the trail 6 times and now considers himself an angel of the trail working to help hikers with places to stay, running errands and making sure they have what they need.

We are staying tonight at the Rocky Hollow Horse Camp which sits at 3574 feet and has a spectacular view.  Bob had a bit of a stressful ride up the mountain as the GPS took him up a 2.7 mile gravel mountain road.  Once he got here, Bill, the proprietor, told him he ought to throw the thing away since there is a much easier way up the mountain.  As Bill said, it’s a bit early in the season and we are the only campers up here so it is peaceful and quiet.   Bill came to the mountain in 2002 after 2 other careers.  Since then he has spent his time carving this beautiful site, primarily for horse riders, out of the wilderness. 

View from our site at the Rocky Hollow Horse Camp

Day 15: Sunday, April 24, 2011

38 miles to Draper, VA

We slept like logs at Claytor Lake State Park, then woke up to a beautiful Easter Sunday morning.  After getting a fairly early start since we knew it would be our first day over 80 degrees to ride, the wind and heat conspired against us. It was a chore to bicycle down the hills.  We ended up having Bob pick us up about 10 miles shy of our original destination.  The good thing though is we got into camp a lot earlier and had some time to relax. This was our first time of really just enjoying the weather and experiencing this RV camping phenomenon.

Pot cyclist, just outside Catawba, VA

Day 14: Saturday, April 23, 2011

66 miles to Christiansburg, VA

Today we passed two milestones.  There are 12 maps for the TransAmerica Trial.  Each map has about 10 mini maps on it with varying mileage. Today we finished the first full map and we will start the next map tomorrow.  Because we are going East to West, our maps started with the highest numbers, so we start map 11 next time we ride.  The second milestone is that we met our first self-contained bicyclist riding the trail.  He is also riding East to West and is carrying 75 pounds of supplies.  He is taking his time and hopefully, we will see him again.  Next time we cross paths, I will see if we can get a picture to post. 

It was a rough climb into Christiansburg, I thought I was going to puke my guts out.  But I made it, without walking!  I’ve never been so happy to see the golden arches.  Sweet tea for all!

Day 13: Friday, April 22, 2011

Here we are at the KOA in Natural Bridge, VA and we have never been here before.  So we find ourselves taking another break from bicycling.  We visited the caverns, the Natural Bridge, the Wax Museum and factory, and the Toy Museum all for one low price.  The wax museum was one of the best I have ever been to and the factory has provided figures to many other organizations including Disney.  We had wanted see the VMI Cadet parade, but Easter break began today, so no marching.   

Don't mind the tree. We're cyclists not photographers!

Day 12: Thursday, April 21, 2011

49 miles to Buchannan, VA

The scent of lilac in the air, dogwoods, redbuds and azaleas in bloom made this ride pure joy.  We biked along the South River and Broad Creek much of the way. We passed a very nice waterfall, but since we were going uphill, I didn’t  take a picture!  We stopped at Niko’s Grill in Lexington, VA  for lunch and it was a treat to eat something other than peanut butter and marshmallow.

Broad Creek ran along much of our route.

Day 11: Wednesday, April 20, 2011

31 miles to Vesuvius, VA

We decided to take a short ride today since we had to bicycle over the Blue Ridge Mountains.  We rode the Blue Ridge Parkway which was great.  It was beautiful and there was very little traffic.  We stopped at the Humpack Rocks Visitor Center and a ranger told us there was a guy who came through last year traveling the TransAmerica Trail on a Unicycle.  He didn’t know if he had made it, but he said he had lots of energy when he left their spot.  We climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed, but I preferred that to coming down the other side of the mountain.  Thank goodness I had read an article about coming down mountains and knew that it was critical to stop and check the tire rims to be sure the tires don’t melt.  We stopped about 3 times and my rims were very hot to the touch.  Vincent’s weren’t because of course he didn’t ride the brakes like I did.  Hopefully, I’ll get better at that with time.

It does seem as though every day brings a new issue with the travel trailer. Today, we noticed the refrigerator wasn’t cold.  Turns out we had parked at a severe angle (didn’t think it was a big problem since we weren’t staying in it) and the coolant doesn’t work under those conditions.  Once again, we relied on our good friend, Don, to help us out.  Despite the logistical problems with the trailer, it is like coming home when we get in from a long ride.  Much better than sleeping in a tent or even going to a hotel room every night.